Rose and Thorn - part 2 (PG)

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Shadow
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Rose and Thorn - part 2 (PG)

Post by Shadow »

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ROSE AND THORN
part two



“Okay.” Mick tried to think where to begin. He and Ray and David had been playing cards in their room when the sirens had gone off, and Mick had grabbed his medic’s pouches, brand new and never used, as they’d hurried to the shelter. Three long hours later he wished he’d brought the cards as well, but finally the all clear sounded, and they emerged from the shelter into a different city. There were fires in the distance, and by their faint glow he could see that the buildings at the end of the street were gone, with nothing but mounds of rubble in their place.

He looked at the remains of the apartment complex, ruin on a smaller scale but not so very different. “When we got there the wardens turned the others back,” he said, “but they saw my medic’s kit, and they let me through. That’s when I saw the woman with the search dog. The wardens told me her name was Esme, and they said her dog was an absolute godsend. He was the oddest little thing, brown and shaggy with one blue eye, but he had a hell of a nose. He’d bark when he caught someone’s scent, and the rescue crew would dig there, and it would always be the right place.”

Mick glanced up at the woman with the black-and-white dog, the woman who was not Esme, and Beth followed his gaze. The woman was watching a flurry of activity among the rescue workers – had they found someone?

“I started working with the survivors,” he said. “There were four people injured, broken bones and bleeding, and I was trying to stabilize them till the ambulance could get there. But it didn’t come – streets all over the city were blocked with rubble, and the ambulance couldn’t get through. Then one of the wardens came up to me, and he asked me to come with him.”

Mick swallowed, and took a deep breath, because it was going to get harder from here. But before he could continue, Beth’s cameraman came running up, out of breath, looking both excited and irritated.

“Beth, come on!” he said, hefting the camera on his shoulder. “They found the kids, and they’re going to be okay. The whole family’s safe. Hurry up, we’re missing it!”

They found them safe, Mick thought. Thank God. He expected Beth to apologize and leave, but she didn’t let go of him. “You’re the one with the camera, Larry,” she said. “Go ahead and get the video. We can fill in my part later.”

“Later? But the TV crews are already setting up. We need to get this report out before they do.”

“We don’t need to be first on this one. Just go on, will you? I’ll be there soon.”

Larry looked at her in disbelief. “Fine. Just sit there with your new, ah, friend,” - he raised his eyebrows suggestively - “and do nothing during a breaking story. I’m sure Maureen will be terribly impressed.”

Larry walked off, camera over his shoulder, and Beth’s body stiffened in anger. She let go of Mick and got to her feet, ready to shout something after Larry, and then abruptly sat back down.

“I’m sorry,” Mick said.

“Don’t be.”

“You should go. I don’t want to interfere with your work.”

“No. We got the first report out on all the other rescues, and this is old news now – doing this segment later won’t make any difference. Maureen won’t care. Don’t worry about it; Larry’s just being a jerk.”

Aside from the comment about Larry, Mick wasn’t sure how much of this was true. He’d never taken any interest in the complex competitions of the news media, but he didn’t think Beth’s delay was as insignificant as she claimed. It was a rescue of children, after all. Beth really ought to be in front of the camera at a time like this, seizing the moment; he knew she was missing it for his sake, and in spite of everything, his heart lifted.

“Anyway. You said the warden asked you to come with him,” Beth said, and waited expectantly.

The warden had led him to a site the little brown dog had found – Mick had heard the barking earlier, and had turned from his work on a splint to glance at the rescue workers, who were running toward the woman and the dog. At the site the workers, covered in dust and plaster, had dug a tunnel that looked like a lopsided mine shaft, and they’d found someone at the bottom. “There was a girl trapped in the rubble,” Mick said. “She was only twelve, not any older than Rosie. Her name was Mary. Her hand and wrist had been crushed in the wreckage, and they couldn’t get her out.” Mick hadn’t been able to tell, in the disjointed darkness of the tunnel, exactly what was keeping her pinned there. A giant oak beam, perhaps, or a massive headboard: whatever it was, the rescue workers hadn’t been able to saw through it or move it. “There was gas leaking in, from where bombs had hit the mains. If they left her there much longer it was going to kill her. They had to get her out fast. The only way was to amputate her arm on the spot.”

“But you said the ambulance couldn’t get through. There weren’t any doctors.” Beth stared at him, sudden realization on her face. “Oh my God. You had to do it yourself, didn’t you?”

“There wasn’t anybody else.”

“But – you were a medic. That’s like being an EMT, isn’t it?”

“Kind of.” Mick smiled faintly. “Although I think they get a lot more training than we ever did.”

“But they’re not trained to do surgery.

“No.”

“Then how were you able to do it?”

“Because of Esme. I remember telling the warden I couldn’t do it – I wasn’t a surgeon, I didn’t know how - but then Esme came up to me. She said she’d been watching me with the wounded, and she could tell I had the skills. She said I’d be able to do it. I guess I believed her.”

Mick stared off into the distance, remembering how Esme’s words had given him the courage to climb into that dark hole. “I went down to where Mary was trapped, and I told her what I was going to have to do. I think she already knew. She could tell how bad it was. But she couldn’t have known how much it was going to hurt. I had morphine to give her, but it wasn’t enough to stop the pain, and I had to keep going, I couldn’t stop. I got it done just in time. They had to pull us both out; I couldn’t climb back up. I was starting to go under, from the gas.”

Beth was looking past him, as if she could see it all happening somewhere in the ruin of the apartment. She wasn’t just listening, she was there with him. She turned to him and said, “Was she okay?”

“I don’t know.” Mary had been unconscious when they’d brought her out, and she hadn’t reacted at all when he’d finished the job, clamping and tying the rest of the bleeders and bandaging the stump. Mick was dazed and ill himself, seeing double, and it took him much longer than it should have, even though Esme was there at his side, helping him. Mary was pale and cold, deep in shock; after tying off the bandage Mick held her in his arms, trying to keep her warm, until an ambulance finally came to carry her away. “It was dawn by the time it was all over, and we got shipped out that morning. She was alive when the ambulance came, but I don’t know what happened after that. I tried to find out after the war, but I only knew her first name. There just wasn’t anything to go on. I tried to find Esme, too, because she might have known what happened. I really should have been able to find her, even though I didn’t know her last name either. A rescue worker with an unusual first name – she ought to have shown up on a list somewhere. But I couldn’t find anything. I’ll never know what happened.”

“Oh, Mick.” Beth’s voice was very low. “Is Mary what you always see, when you have these flashbacks?”

“No.” So many years had gone by, but all of the visions were still crystal clear in his mind. “A lot of my friends died in the war, and I was the one trying to save them. Sometimes I could help, and that made it all worth it, but there were so many times that I couldn’t. When they were killed outright, or when they were hurt too badly to be saved. Most of my company died in the Ardennes. Only a few of us came home.” David at least had survived, though he’d never forgiven Mick for what had happened. But Beth didn’t need to hear about that, and Mick had already said too much. These were the memories that had been sparked by Josh’s death, and Beth, listening, had gone very quiet and still.

He ought to change the subject now, but talking of the visions had left nothing in his mind but the war, and the memories kept slipping past: a dance in London the night before the bombing raid, Mick flirting with a shy English girl named Anna and taking a turn on stage with a borrowed guitar. His friend Jimmy, a trumpet player at home and an infantryman at war, avidly talking jazz with Mick at one instant and dead the next, shot through the heart by a sniper’s bullet. A German patrol, letting Mick go when he’d blundered into them carrying a wounded man, taking note of his red cross armband and politely giving him directions to his own aid station. The massacre at Malmedy, word of it spreading like wildfire along the lines until it reached Mick’s company: S.S. troops had gunned down a group of prisoners, medics and wounded among them. There were so many contradictions, beauty mingling with tragedy, mercy with atrocity. Finding Rosie at the train station, holding her in his arms. Standing outside her window, with his eyes gone pale and cold. Mick pushed away that last thought, but he couldn’t stop himself from putting his hand to his chest, just for a moment, to feel the fleury cross through the fabric of his shirt.

His gaze strayed again to the redheaded woman, now sitting on a blanket by her dog while the family they’d saved was treated by the paramedics. Thinking of Esme, he wondered what it had been like for London’s rescue crews, already enduring their third year of bombing by the time Mick’s war had begun. They’d been ragged and exhausted by then, but had worked steadily on, determined to save all the lives they could. But there had been something different about Esme. She’d seemed not just dedicated, but driven.

“You can’t keep your eyes off her,” Beth said softly.

“No. She looks so much like Esme.”

He wondered if the woman might be a descendant of Esme’s, a great-granddaughter perhaps. It didn’t seem likely, and coincidence was common. Everybody has a twin somewhere, Josef had once said. But then -

“Maybe it really is her,” Beth said.

“What?”

“Maybe she’s really Esme.”

“Beth, it’s been over sixty years. How could she be?”

Beth shrugged. “You never know. She might be a vampire.”

“No, she isn’t. I was standing right next to her back then. I would have . . .” He broke off, the realization hitting him for the first time. How would he know? He’d been human then; he was human now. She could be a vampire, for all he knew. His world turned under him, leaving him shaken. He had always assumed, somehow, that everyone he’d known back in his old life had been as mortal as he was. For him, vampires had not existed until he became one. It was strange, realizing that anyone from his fifth grade math teacher to his drill sergeant could have been a vampire, unlikely as it might be. You can’t tell, can you? Scary.

“But you were human then. How could you know?” Beth said, bypassing his revelation with casual and simple logic. “You need to talk to her. Just in case. Esme was important to you, and the last time you thought you recognized somebody, you were right.”

Mick hesitated, troubled by Beth’s reference to Coraline, worried that this would seem like the same thing to her. He didn’t like to remember how he’d behaved when Coraline had appeared at the hotel fire, the way he’d obsessed over Coraline and ignored Beth. But Beth was already getting up, reaching out to take his hand. She wanted him to go. It would be all right with her.

With her help Mick got to his feet. He was unsteady, and his knee hurt even more than it had before, but he could manage. Beth let go of him as soon as she was sure he could stand on his own, and it was almost physically painful for him to move away from her. Would she ever touch him again, hold him again? Five seconds apart from her and he already felt empty and bereft. But Beth was right - he needed to talk to Esme. Or whoever she was. But he was starting to be convinced that she really was Esme, in spite of the presence of the dog. He’d never seen it done before, but surely a dog could be trained to overcome its natural fear of vampires, just as a vampire could overcome the instinct to kill.

Mick remembered how the woman moved, graceful no matter how treacherous the footing; he remembered her uncanny intentness, the distraction of her dog. She’s the one finding the victims, he thought. The dog’s a disguise.










The woman glanced up at Mick as he came near, and the dog wagged his tail. Mick stopped and stood looking down at her, wondering what to say, and she gave him a questioning look. He supposed that he might as well take the most direct approach.

“Esme?” he said.

“Yes?”

He found himself faltering at this confirmation of what he’d begun to believe. Hesitantly he said, “That’s your name? Esme?”

“Yes, Esme Morrison. And you are?”

“Mick St. John.”

“Have we met?” she asked, puzzled.

“Yes, I think we have.”

She shrugged. “I’m afraid I don’t remember. What was the occasion?” Her voice was just as he remembered, the English accent, the low quiet tones. He was certain of her now.

“It was in London,” he said. “A rescue operation, like this one. Only you had a different dog. A smaller one, with long brown hair and one blue eye.”

He’d startled her thoroughly; her mouth dropped open in surprise. “Cipher,” she whispered. And he remembered: that had been the brown dog’s name. The little brown dog that had watched, ears pricked, while Esme had helped Mick with Mary. He’d asked her why she wasn’t still searching for survivors; she’d answered that there were no more, and the dead could wait.

“Yes, Cipher.” He gestured to the black-and-white dog. “Who’s this one?”

“Tangent.” She was staring at him in disbelief, taking in deep breaths, trying to catch a scent that wasn’t there.

Mick thought of how she’d knelt beside him, holding the stump of Mary’s arm: she’d passed him sutures and bandages, and had steadied him when he’d wavered, dizzy and sick. He said, “There was a girl trapped in the rubble, pinned there. She had to have her arm amputated.”

“When was this?”

“1942,” he said steadily. “The end of December.”

Esme gave a shaky laugh. “Is this some sort of joke? I don’t really think I need to hear any more of this.” She stood, picking up the dog’s lead.

“Please,” Mick said, suddenly terrified that she would leave. “Please, listen to me. I haven’t always been the way I am now. After the war, I changed. To what you are. And a few days ago, I changed back.”

“Changed back!” She sounded almost hysterical. “There is no such thing as changing back. No way, no hope, no return.”

Esme started away, but Mick stepped in front of her. “Look at me. You’ve met me before. I looked younger then, but you know me.”

She stopped. “How much younger?”

“I was twenty.”

She stared at him for a long time, and he met her gaze intently. “Mick,” she said at last, her voice suddenly very small.

He nodded.

She took a step, her lips parting, and put one hand out toward him. “You were the medic.”

“Yes.”

She put her hand to her mouth. “You were. I remember. But you can’t be. How can you be? How could you change back?”

“Esme . . .”

“Please,” she said. “You have to tell me. You have to tell me how you did it.”

Mick was paralyzed for a moment, recognizing his own desperate plea to Coraline. He’d never expected this, that Esme would want the cure as much as he did. “Esme, I’m sorry. It isn’t really a cure. It’s temporary, and it’s gone. I don’t have it any more.”

“How can it be gone? Mick, tell me. How did you get it? What is it?”

“A friend of mine brought it to me. It was some kind of organic compound - I don’t know what was in it. But it was old, I think. Very old. She’d stolen it, and the vamps she stole it from came after her. They took her, and they took it.”

Esme examined his face, looking closely at the contusions, at the bruises that were only just starting to fade. “You tried to stop them.”

“Yes.”

“For her? Or for it?”

“Both.”

“Who were they?”

He shook his head. “No, Esme. They’re too powerful, too dangerous. And the cure is only temporary. It’s not worth going up against them.”

“So you won’t tell me.”

“No.”

“What will happen to your friend?”

“I don’t know.” The memory of Coraline, sacrificing herself for him, now troubled his sleep as well. But if anyone could survive such a situation, and land on her feet, it was Coraline.

Esme put a hand to her face, tiredly pushing back a few strands of red hair. “How long will you be human?”

“It might end tomorrow. It might last six months, at best. Esme, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you false hope.”

“I’m not so sure it’s false,” she said slowly. “Knowing that the change can happen at all – that’s a lot more than I ever had before.” She sighed. “So, you didn’t come bearing the cure. Why did you come to talk to me?”

“The girl, Mary. The one whose arm I amputated. You helped me with her, and I wondered – I thought you might know what happened to her.”

“Didn’t you – oh.” Her face changed, from confusion to understanding. “You were shipped out that morning.”

“Yes. I tried to find out what happened to her when I got back, but I couldn’t. Do you know?”

“Oh, yes. She lived. I mean, I didn’t keep track of her later, I don’t know what happened to her in the long term, but she was doing fine that week.”

Mick closed his eyes. She lived.

“I went by the hospital to look in on her,” Esme said. “She was something special, wasn’t she? All this time, and I remember her so clearly. She asked about you, and wanted to see you. She was terribly disappointed that you’d been shipped out.”

He looked at her in disbelief, and Esme laughed. “Mick, she understood why you had to hurt her. She knew you saved her life.”

Mick sat down abruptly, his head in his hands, and Esme’s dog crept up to lean against him. After a moment he cautiously put out a hand and stroked the dog’s soft fur. He’d forgotten, long ago, how much comfort the simple trust of an animal could bring. When was the last time a dog had come to him? He couldn’t remember. Esme knelt beside him and said, “Are you okay?”

“More than okay.” Mary lived. She didn’t blame me. She wanted to see me. He looked up at Esme, and said, “Thank you. I thought I’d never know what happened. And back then - I couldn’t have done it without you.”

A young man from the rescue crew ran up to them, leaning over with hands on knees to speak to Esme. “Miss Morrison, can you come? There’s another situation across town, and they haven’t been able to find everyone.”

“In a minute,” Esme said, not taking her eyes off Mick. She pulled out a card, and quickly wrote a number on the back. “Mick, if you find out anything else – about it – will you call me?”

He took the card and put it carefully away. “Yes. I promise.”

She put out a hand to touch his, her fingers brushing lightly against his ring, and said, “I’m glad for you, Mick. I hope it lasts longer than you expect.” She smiled faintly, then got up and walked away with the young man. The dog jumped to its feet and followed her.










Mick sat very still for a long time after she had gone. Thoughts flashed across his mind: memories of Mary, questions about Esme. Would he ever see Esme again? She was no Los Angeles resident, he was sure. He wondered how long she had been moving from disaster to disaster, doing what she could to help people. Was she trying to make up for things she had done in her past, the way he was? Neither of them would ever succeed; there was no way to make up for such things. A life saved would never cancel out a life that had been taken. But Mick was compelled to keep trying, and it seemed that Esme was as well.

“Mick?” Beth sat down beside him. “She really was Esme, wasn’t she?”

“She was. And she remembered Mary.”

“What happened to her?”

“She lived.” Mick smiled, still astonished at the knowledge.

“Oh, Mick! That’s wonderful!” Beth threw her arms around him and he caught her and held her in turn, feeling more connected to her than he had in weeks. Just for a moment she was her old self, enthusiastic and spontaneous, and she held him tightly, her face pressed against his shoulder. It was incredible to hold her as a human, to feel her warmth, the touch of her hair against his face. It was so much more intense than it had ever been before. His sight and hearing were muted now, and he could scarcely smell anything, but his sense of touch had magnified. He hadn’t realized how much it had been diminished before. After a moment she pulled away, but though she was no longer touching him, the closeness between them remained.

They sat quietly for a time, looking out over the site. The last ambulance had gone, and the rescue crews were packing up. Mick didn’t see the Buzzwire van.

“Where’s your camera guy?” he asked. “Don’t you need to record your piece?”

Beth shook her head. “I already did it, while you were talking to Esme. I was – well, I wasn’t exactly polite to Larry, and he took off without me. I don’t suppose you could give me a ride home?”

“Of course.” He was elated that she had asked.

“Thanks.” She smiled at him, looked away, looked back. Her face turned serious.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Mick – who’s Rosie?”








There was no earthquake this time, not even an aftershock, but Mick felt himself falling.




















_
Last edited by Shadow on Mon Feb 16, 2009 8:22 am, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: Rose and Thorn - part two

Post by wpgrace »

Well it took me over an hour to get thru this chapter... getting the kids fed, dressed, off to school... anyway, totally worth it!

His connection to Beth here is heart-warming... so good to see her being Good-Beth instead of Selfish-Beth.

Such a wonderful rendition of his experience.

And WHAT a conversation with Esme... realizing it is her, not the dog, that is finding people. I love how these revelations are coming to him, bit by bit. It's so incredibly real.

So interesting, too, that his sense of touch is heightened as the human. Actually makes sense. You are doing a good job, again better than the show, of laying out the adjustment he would have to making here adjusting to being human... the senses of the vamp now replaced by human ones and having to re-equilibrate to that.
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Re: Rose and Thorn - part two

Post by coco »

Shadow this is just wonderful :D
I love the human connection between Mick & Beth and watching it unfold.
*off to read part 3*
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Re: Rose and Thorn - part two

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coco, thanks so much for your comment! (and there's nothing better to see than that you're off to the next one!)

Grace, I loved that you mentioned that conversation with Esme - because that's where the whole story started in my mind, when Esme appeared out of the rubble and started talking to Mick. I hadn't ever meant to write any fan fiction, but Esme was insistent!
Since vamp Mick didn't seem to feel pain as much as a human would, even for a moment, I always thought that his whole sense of touch would have been diminished as well. It seemed right to give that back to human Mick ....
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Re: Rose and Thorn - part two

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Shadow wrote:coco, thanks so much for your comment! (and there's nothing better to see than that you're off to the next one!)

Grace, I loved that you mentioned that conversation with Esme - because that's where the whole story started in my mind, when Esme appeared out of the rubble and started talking to Mick. I hadn't ever meant to write any fan fiction, but Esme was insistent!
Since vamp Mick didn't seem to feel pain as much as a human would, even for a moment, I always thought that his whole sense of touch would have been diminished as well. It seemed right to give that back to human Mick ....

Well then apparently we owe a debt to Esme... I like how you have them as kindred souls in this fic too... I think it is nice for Mick to meet others like himself...Cause frankly, don't we allll like to find people who share our outlook and who "get" our feelings? Guess that's kinda why there's all these ML fanboards, really.

So most vamps probably don't share Mick's regrets, but there's gotta be some who do... and Esme seems like a nice contact, a nice touchstone, for him.
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Re: Rose and Thorn - part two

Post by mitzie »

Wonderful second part!! Esme giving Mick the answer, an answer that was so wonderful for Mick to hear!! Mick and Beth on an equal footing here. The love and warmth they both need from each other. I am loving this story!!!! :mrgreen:

Off to read part three.
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Re: Rose and Thorn - part two

Post by lila »

I love your character, Esme! She's a perfect reivindication for Mick, and for all that he had to go through during the war and Josh's death. And she's also an excellent way to bring Mick and Beth back to that flowing, wonderful relationship they had.

In short, this is a beautiful chapter. *hurries off for chapter 3*.
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Re: Rose and Thorn - part 2

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Thanks so much for the comments about Esme .... she's rather special to me, and it's good to know that she made an impression!
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Re: Rose and Thorn - part 2

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You do lay out the flashbacks so very beautifully for us. I can see the rubble (and as a Londoner, this is part of my history - often seen, often referenced), I can feel Mick and Mary's despair. And then, so gently but tragically, I can feel Beth's realisation of just what Mick has been through:
Shadow wrote:“Oh, Mick.” Beth’s voice was very low. “Is Mary what you always see, when you have these flashbacks?”

“No.” So many years had gone by, but all of the visions were still crystal clear in his mind. “A lot of my friends died in the war, and I was the one trying to save them. Sometimes I could help, and that made it all worth it, but there were so many times that I couldn’t. When they were killed outright, or when they were hurt too badly to be saved. Most of my company died in the Ardennes. Only a few of us came home.” David at least had survived, though he’d never forgiven Mick for what had happened. But Beth didn’t need to hear about that, and Mick had already said too much. These were the memories that had been sparked by Josh’s death, and Beth, listening, had gone very quiet and still.
I'm sorry to quote such a huge chunk but this is just brilliant. We can see and feel Beth starting to understand what Mick has lived through. I agree with Grace - you have shown us the best of Beth here.

Mick's wartime experiences are so much a part of what formed him and I really do love the way you have used Mick's humanity to play them out, to show us what he sees and feels.
Shadow wrote:It would be all right with her.
Such a simple phrase - that says so much. Mick clings to Beth as his saviour, his trust and his hope reside in her and this is a beautiful way to show that.

I loved the whole section with Esme - Mick finally finding a vampire who is a kindred spirit.
Shadow wrote:It was incredible to hold her as a human, to feel her warmth, the touch of her hair against his face. It was so much more intense than it had ever been before. His sight and hearing were muted now, and he could scarcely smell anything, but his sense of touch had magnified.
That's divine - and so original. That he actually gained sensory acuity through becoming human again. I could feel him feeling Beth here. It's lovely.

And Rosie? Can't wait for the next chapter.

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Re: Rose and Thorn - part 2

Post by francis »

I love how you tie in the earthquake situation today with the war bombing situation back then. A good way to let Mick talk about the war, comes very natural.
I love Beth’s reaction. It’s a bit OOC for her, she is so much nicer here than in the show, but I like this Beth better. Of course.
Oh, the exchange with Esme is so heartbreaking. She disbelieving, and then wanting to know about the cure.
(It’s ironic that this time a vampire doesn’t believe what a human tells them, it’s so often vice versa.)
I love how Esme managed to give Mick closure.
There was no earthquake this time, not even an aftershock, but Mick felt himself falling.
Love that.
Huh? How does she know that name? Intriguing.
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Re: Rose and Thorn - part 2

Post by Shadow »

Red, have I mentioned how much I love your epic comments?
When I wrote this they hadn't done the WWII episode yet, and there were just the couple of voice overs where Mick so very briefly mentioned the war - but they were compelling, and his memories were so strong. I was thinking just what you said, that his wartime experiences would have been a big part of what formed his character.
And, definitely, the best of Beth. I think this part of her really would come out, given the situation - (though francis is probably right about her being a bit out of character!) But I like to think that she could respond this way when Mick needed her so much.

francis, it was wonderful to get your comments! It was so nice that you mentioned the connection between the earthquake and the bombing; glad that worked for you ....
and I loved your comment about Esme and the irony of the vampire not believing the human. (Oh, and Rosie - Mick does mention her in passing when telling Beth about Mary.) Thanks for reading!
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starbucksjunkie
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Re: Rose and Thorn - part 2 (PG)

Post by starbucksjunkie »

It is wonderful to revisit this fabulous story.

And your insight into vampires and their senses--how Mick's sense of touch was dulled as a vamp--has a precedent, I believe. I can't find the reference, but I remember reading somewhere that in Trevor Munson's original conception of Mick, his sense of touch is greatly dulled. So kudos to you!
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"There is a degree to which . . . all literature, highbrow or low, from the Aeneid onward, is fan fiction . . . retelling and reimagining the stories that were told before us and that we have come of age loving--amateurs--we proceed, seeking out the blank places in the map that our favorite writers . . . have left for us . . ." -- Michael Chabon, Maps and Legends
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Shadow
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Re: Rose and Thorn - part 2 (PG)

Post by Shadow »

How interesting that the dulled sense of touch was in the original concept - I'd never heard about that. I'm really glad you mentioned it; I just love learning about such intriguing details.

Many thanks for the kudos!
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Re: Rose and Thorn - part 2 (PG)

Post by NocturneInCMoll »

Great chapter. Loved Mick's conversation with Esme--I'm very curious about her backstory--when did she become a vampire, and how? It seems as though she was probably an unwilling turn, like Mick... I hope we get to know more about her.

Like Beth, I've also been wondering who Rosie is...
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Shadow
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Re: Rose and Thorn - part 2 (PG)

Post by Shadow »

Thanks Julie! I had lots more about Esme that I wanted to use but it just didn't fit into this story. But I'm hoping to bring her into another story sometime and concentrate more on her.

So glad you liked her as she is really a favorite character of mine.
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